The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1887-10-08
BILL NYE ON ART.
Pictures Painted by the Hand
and by the Day.
THEN cur OUT WITH A SAW.
An Auctioneer With no Collar or Con-
scisuce-A stinging Rebuke-Bill's
Experience Briefly Told.

ing ne sale of genuine oil paintings"
BY means of a smooth salesman, a
strong gas jet and a tin refec or.
Genuine oil paintings are of two kinds,
VIZ those painted By hand and those
painted by the day. The latter ind
ready sale in New York to people who
claim that Rembrandt and Blerstadt
have always asked fancy prices for
their work.
I dropped in yesterday at one of
these great sacrifices by gaslight, and
was surprised to see real art go begging
in the midst of wealth. In this store
room were pictures varying in size from
a piece of cloth up to one as large each
way as the plot for a tragedy. There
was one little painting of Diana sur
prised by New York artist. L didn't
blame her much. 1t was very small
painting, don't on piece of celluloid
no larger than poker chip, if may be
permitted to use a comparison that is
extremely distast full to me. Another
small painting, The Landing of Co
lumbus," was on the reverse side of q
half-dolar. The reverse side of a half
dollaris the side that you turn up while
matching with man who most always
wins.
Ventured to remark, as looked at
this little triumph of art on small
scale. that Columbus was always re-
earded by Americans as courageous
man, but when they stopped to con-
slider that he landed at a place where
cigars are rs cents apiece and that he
landed on half-dollar, it seemed to me
that q few resolutions of respect would
not be out of place.
A gentleman who stood near me
and who was there to buy some art
gems for the dining-room of railroad
eating house, said that painting the
landing of Columbus on half-dollar
was no great triumph in that line. He
knew a man in Nova Scotia who
painted a marine view of the deluge
on the handle of an umbrella, and
another man, who was q neighbor of
his, painted very life-like picture of
Europe on an empty stomach. He
said 1t was as good a front view Of
Europe as he ever saw, too.
At this point a salesman excused
himself, and l heard him holding
consultation with his telephone in the
back part of the room, during which
he asked a gentleman named Ward
Siland if he hadn't found himself
short OF loW-set man with a deep
red nose and tall, sad-looking party
who seemed to be in search OF quiet
place into which he could weep.
The hour for the sale having now
arrived, the gas was turned on and
the sacrifice began. The eating-house
man and l constituted the eager
crowd. The pictures, one after the
other, were set up on an easel, SO that
bunch of gas jets, with the aid of a
bright tin reflector, would cast soft
ally make man want it.
The first slaughter consisted of nice
red picture by De Gaumer. It repre-
sented an autumn scene just in the act
of putting on its heavy red flannel
underbrush for the winter.
Now, there" said the clearinghouse
man to me, lis rare picture"
ayes" said 1, with charming naivette
and sangfroid, lit looks pretty rare and
is not what you would call well DONE"
He laughed heartily, and l gave him
a cigar, with loose Mother Hubbard
wrapper and inlaid filler, warning him
to be careful when he bit the end off not
to let the inside of the cigar spill out.
We then began to discuss the works
of art as they were put up, and other
people dropped in to bid on the pictures
and enjoy themselves.
Here" said the urbane auctioneer
with no collar or conscience, lis reel
oil painting. You can wash it, as l
will show you" He then calmly spit
or spat (Which ever would look best in
print) on the picture and washed the
face of maroon, rustic maiden in blue
shoes, with a greenish dog near her
that seemed to be mortised into bunch
of violet grass. He then wiped her
features with the elbow of his shirt
sleeve, wiped this sleeve on the other,
then that one on one leg of his pants-
looms, and that leg on the other,
thus giving Woodworth's method of IL
lustrati1g the first, second and third
picture done by De Goumer in oil. 1t
would ordinarily cost $3.50. The frame
alone would cost $35. What do I hear
for the picture, frame and all together"
will you have it sent to my ad-
dress, if I buy it2" asked the eating
| house man.
Yes, sir; boxed and shipped any
| where"
How about repairing that road that
goes northwest from the foreground to
the seal-brown barn7"
THAT, sir, is not road. It is 8
mountain torrent"
| ION! torrent is it? 'Scuse haste and
bad pen. Thoughtit was the county
line road. I can see now, though, that
it's torrent. Anybody can see it's q
torrent just begin to savvy. Come
to get my glasses on, can see that it is
rip-snorting torrent leaning up
against seal-brown barn to rest and
wait for a street sprinkler to come along
and squirt some water on it."
| THAT is n0t barn. 1t is mill, sir
"A mountain mill in the Alps. Back
here in the horizon you can see the
| Alps. How much for the picture, gen.
tlemen, frame and alp The frame
goes with the picture, remember,
and we will send it to your ad-
dress for you. How much do hear